The Un-gamer

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I am the un-gamer. Not an anti-gamer, since I have nothing against gaming, but I have never been able to get involved in the activity. I find other ways to fill my geek quota with my choices in books, movies, and art. Gaming just has never been able to have a hold over me, or move me to become anything other than a spectator. I'll gladly plop down and watch someone else play. I take a back seat role, watching as the action and story unfold, but only for limited periods of time. Even when games do interest me, I know that I would never be able to really get into it. Case in point:

I recently watched as a friend played City of Villians. Actually, it was more like touring the game in an attempt to introduce me to the wonders of gaming. I'll admit, the concept intrigued me. I felt the hook find purchase and the pull as I started to be reeled into foreign territory. I caught myself thinking of how cool it would be to create a character, to have super powers and act out a comic book. Especially since I'm a comics [http://www.penny-arcade.com]. But thinking it over more, I just can't see myself getting into the games and investing both time and money.

Somewhere between my need to be good at whatever I do and the ease at which I get discouraged, I don't think I will ever become an active member of the gaming community. My colleagues and friends say otherwise. I guess it's possible, you never know.

In the meantime being the back-seat-rider is fine with me.

 

[Teleios]

Oh, Jess, we'll get you. Just you wait...

Others have said the same thing. Just give it time. *evil grin*

 

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Original Comment by: Patrick Dugan
http://www.kingludic.blogspot.com
Actually I compleletly respect Jess' position and understand not only the reasons she is turned off by gaming, but that these same reasons are what continues to limit the market size of the interactive entertainment industry. I think what Jess would dig is interactive storytelling, being able to make meaningful decisions that affect the story and challenge the player with social dynamics, while requiring a minimal investment of time and effort. This is THE hot ticket and perhaps the artistic future of the medium, what do you all think?

 

[Teleios]

True. You can tie that into gaming as well with more of those story-like games that really focus on the decisions you make. Knights of the Old Republic as an example. It really is an interactive story that you can shape. Granted, games are limited in the way you can affect the outcome, however if there is a way to keep it simple, fun, and involved I think a lot of people would be all over it.

 

[Landslide]

Hmm. Maybe we'll entice her to come to one of our Cyberpunk sessions and see how she enjoys that. Seems to mesh with your thoughts Patrick.

 

[Andraste]

I certainly think interactive storytelling will broaden the audience. I also think there will be some overlap with the current gaming audience, but certainly not total. Those that prize graphics and the ludologists may find it a tad lacking, as I think the gameplay and graphics will likely suffer for the increased story-telling needs at first.

 

[Teleios]

Take a look at sprite based games. I.E., the old Final Fantasy games. Not particularly strong in graphics, but amazing story and awesome gameplay. The only reason why I played through all of them was the story, the gameplay (to me) was just the icing on the cake.

 

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Original Comment by: Daniel Vanasse
http://ffo.warcry.com
Art is a nice. IIt can be applied to pretty much any kind of domain and still be interesting. As an artist you can enjoy pretty much every thing to some degree. I've met artistic people before that were really into video games design and artwork but wouldn't play a game. They just enjoyed the visual aspect of it and nothing much more.

I on the other hand love art and video games. It's the best of two world combined. There are a lot of insparation that came be assimilated by watching them. Even if you don't participate as a player there is always the pleasure of watching it. I have friends that loves to watch others play some type of game they dislike playing. To each its own.

Now that you're part of a crew of gamers stand strong and stay true to yourself! Gaming is an addiction. For some a good one and others not. But playing or not, art is what makes it possible. We own the world! ~.^

 

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Original Comment by: TheKeck

The part of this comment that interested me was the willingness to watch games being played. While I am an avid gamer, I also enjoy watching people play just fine. Some people seem to think that if they are not in control of the action, video games are completely boring. I have contently watched others play a game for hours.

 

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Original Comment by: Tristan Tillesburg

Although my brain might be reeling from the 6-hour stint of Guild Wars i just subjected myself to, i recall that author James Newman suggests that the 'back-seat' or 'passenger-seat' riders during gaming experiences of others are actually partaking in a form of play...it's a vicarious form of non-corporeal play that we actually often don't acknowledge sometimes...there's certainly some interaction there at very least.

So even if you're not 'playing' per se i would say that you much more of a gamer than an anti-gamer!

 

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Original Comment by: Tristan Tillesburg

Whoopsee, make that 'un-gamer'...damn, 6-hours of Guild Wars really can take it's toll. :\

 

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Original Comment by: plangent
http://plangent.underhanded.org
What's a geek quota?

This is a difficult time to start gaming. PC games get more time/system intensive every year. Add to this the online component where you're lower than a stink in a wagon track until you've logged at least a month's worth of in-game time. Even consoles aren't safe anymore. Now through the magic of the internet 360 owners can be berated by complete strangers for how far they haven't gotten in PDZ.

Pardon the fanboi tinge of this next statement, but I think the last bastion for the new/casual gamer is Nintendo. If you want to get into gaming do yourself a favor and pick up a DS along with a couple games like Phoenix Wright and Animal Crossing. Especially the latter as it manages to incorporate online achievement based gaming that doesn't erode your humanity. Designing your own outfits is fun too. : )

 

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Original Comment by: Randall Fitzgerald
http://www.ikimashou.net
I think one of the major problems facing people who maybe like games, but don't want to invest time is exactly that. They don't want ot invest time. It's always been a bit strange to me that people feel perfectly comfortable knowing that if they random pick up a pencil, or a baseball bat, or a paint brush, the first thing they put down won't be a masterpiece. People do not equate these ideas to video games, and this is largely due to the fact that when technology was young, there wasn't much you could do with a character. Remember Mario? Sure you can get to World 8 in 5 minutes, but can you beat it? The difference in answer will go to show you the difference in opinion between gamers and un-gamers I think. If an un-gamer can pick up a game and play it instantly, they will feel a bit of enjoyment, but likely not be enthralled, because games like that are generally shallow and repetitive, whereas the harder games, which require training and self-improvement, are more fulfilling on just about every level.

Let's compare platformers for a minute. Let's say God of War, straight across to Mario Sunshine. Both games that sold wonderfully (for whatever their reason), however; even though these games are the same at the core -- you shoot enemies, you jump around levels, solve puzzles, what-have-you -- they differ wildly in their immersion value. I've played through roughly half of Mario Sunshine and I honestly couldn't have brought myself to care no matter what happened. The "story" is largely a fluff piece put on top of, what I consider to be, shallow gameplay. As the gaming palette becomes more sophisticated, so will the games. I want literally hundreds or thousands of moves and an story line that is complicated, or at least interesting. Prince of Persia? I think yes.

With regards to the casual -- largely Nintendo loving -- group of gamers, I would have to go ahead and point out that gamers are a group unto themselves. Pandering to people who might, maybe, one day put down 30 dollars on a copy of Mario 8000000 is spitting in the face of the people who shell out 99% if the gaming industry's income. We put dollars in the bank, and Nintendo doesn't have their finger on the pulse anymore, so they play the gimmick game. I wish the industry would accept that they support the habit of what is a very large niche and chasing that outside dollar will alienate a lot of people. Just look at Japan's response to Nintendo, they like the Microsoft philosophy better. What more proof do you need? We are your audience, Nintendo. That is why Smash Brothers and Metroid and Resident Evil 4 top the sales charts for your console (look it up). Remember it well, or just stick to handhelds. But then again, with Sony in the market now, you might want to step it up a notch. I've played all the DS games... fluff. Fun fluff, but fluff. Now excuse my while I go grab my PSP copy of Prince of Persia. *drools*

Oh, and just a note, I don't have any problem with casual gamers, or non-gamers, or un-gamers, or de-gamers or any such thing. Those people are fine to hang around and chillax (thanks Polly Pocket) with. You can even get them to pick up a controller once in a while and have some good fun. Maybe get your ass kicked in Soul Calibur III. I just don't think pandering to them is a super bright idea.

 

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As I said, I'm willing to try gaming. I just cant promise any results that will change my current state of un-gamer. The more likely out come is for me to be cheering you on and doing character sketches. Which leads to my thoughts on Randall's comment.

This statement in particular:
"It's always been a bit strange to me that people feel perfectly comfortable knowing that if they random pick up a pencil, or a baseball bat, or a paint brush, the first thing they put down won't be a masterpiece. "

I guess my thought process there is that even if your result is less than steller, you don't 'die.' You don't have anyone or thing there pointing out in vibrant colors and flashing lights that, 'Hey, you really aren't good at this. See? You just died/lost. Man you suck.' It's not exactly a motivator to pick up the controller and play again. (Did i mention my competitive nature?) With art... theres a trackable learning process. Even when you mess up. And if its really bad... well thats the magic of an eraser. I'm sure there are a lot of ways to counter-argue my point, but in the end I'd rather spend my time with a pencil in hand rather than controller. *shrug* To each their own I guess.

 

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Original Comment by: Randall Fitzgerald
http://www.ikimashou.net
Well that is sort of how you could look at an extra life, or continuing from the last save point. You reached a point you need ot practice a bit more on, like say you can't draw eyes well, you practice drawing eyes, or whatever. And if you want to look at it as a line that didn't come out right that you erase, think of it that way. You did the stage wrong, so you erase the screw ups and start the line over. There's an amount of tedium sometimes, but as you get better overall, other games well flow naturally, like other drawings as you improve overall at art. That is to say, if you have mastered one medium, when you move to another, you have a basis from which to draw.

I don't mean to say that it is important that you ever learn to love games, it's just that I've noticed lots of people tend to want to be able to do it well from the get go, when really most games do require a bit of practice. It's completely acceptable and I understand it as there are other things I'd just as soon not learn, like how to make noodles from scratch for example. But again, you'd rather have a pencil in your hand, and that is why I get so disappointed when game companies try to draw in non-gamers. This is our hobby, art is your hobby. You don't need to game if you don't want, and we don't need to... art... if we don't want. We're all happy doing things that we like and that's how it should be, damnit!

Also, thanks for replying to my extremely wordy comment. Every where else I post crap like that, it gets ignored. Haha.

 

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Original Comment by: Mark

There is an economic reason to appeal to nongamers:

Nongamers outnumber gamers by several orders of magnitude.

There are very few entry-level games that a non-gamer can pick up and immediately start enjoying, and most of these come from Popcap. They are also fairly poor at getting people involved with deeper content. If you can provide an intermediate level, however... something that falls between Bejeweled and Super Mario Sunshine, without being even remotely embarassing to play... you'll find yourself sitting on a goldmine.

 

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So now I'm curious. What is it that draws other people to gaming? What was the first game you picked up and got really into, that got you hooked? Was there any sort of process that led you from one sort of gaming to whatever youre into now? hmmm... how to say it better....

Where was your hook? Not just to get you to play but to continue playing?

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread but if you are, I'd like to know.

 

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Original Comment by: Randall Fitzgerald
http://www.ikimashou.net
We were really poor when I was growing up, but we managed to have a Nintendo. I think, like many, Mario originally got me to notice, but then I got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and that used the same game engine as some other Konami game. The TMNT game, althought the leat popular in the series, showed my that there was this other level to gaming. I had to try and push my abilities to beat even the second stage (damn you underwater bomb level!) I've always loved a challenge and the TMNT game was not short on that. I still find that some of my favorite games enthrall me the most when they are at their most unforgiving.

So I played Nintendo and the few games we had every day for forever until I got a Sega Genesis and then Mortal Kombat took over my life and my friends and I would play it for days on end until our thumbs literally started to bleed at which point there would be band-aids and snacks, and then more MK. My proudest moment was when I had learned every move, and finishing move (Fatality, Brutality, etc etc) in the game. I could decimate. I remember one time I was visint my father in California and I spied an MK Trilogy arcade machine and was burning through my 50 cents when a fellow came up and challenged me. He picked Liu Kang. Oh what folly. He was jeered by his friend and that was sort of the proof that gaming had always been worth something, and thus far in my life it has been at the helm of the experiences I consider to be the most rewarding, socially and mentally. It was a way to bond with my father before he left my mother, it was a way to bond with friends, and it's been a great way to meet total strangers. Nothing quite says "Let's be friends" like completely decimating someone in an arcade, or a saving heal in an MMO.

Really what KEPT me gaming was that there was always something worth playing. Games kept evolving and game makers kept coming out with fresh ideas and better stories to tell. I couldn't really point to one thing that hooked me in. There were plenty of times when I was young that I could have dropped gaming if there had been nothing good to play. Before I knew it though, I was locked in. No overwhelming sense of awe at a certain game, just a love of fun and delivery on the part of the industry. But then... I started pretty young, so maybe I'm just addicted. O_O

 

[Virgil]

So now I'm curious. What is it that draws other people to gaming?Gaming is an experience, a varied one at that. It encapsulates many different things that draw different people to them. This could be a post in itself.

The first, and easiest way to get in, is the interactive story. Anyone that enjoys fiction of any sort could be drawn in there - it was much easier when Adventure games were a popular genre though. You can enjoy many game for the same reason you enjoy a good book - because the characters are interesting, the plot is gripping, and you want to know what happens.

Those are the ones that hooked me. I learned to use a PC in order to get the Sierra adventure games to run - I knew the commands to do it and only later learned what the commands actually meant. It was a gateway drug into technology. Gaming was another means to access stories - the same thing I love in books, movies, and comics. But they're also more, because they're interactive, so you're not only looking into the story, you're exploring it at the same time.

Of course, that doesn't apply to every game - you aren't playing a racing or sports title for the story after all. But those titles can often give you a window into something you'll likely never get to do in real like - like drive a car around a track at 200mph. Sure, it's just a simulation, but the challenge and sense of speed get more lifelike all the time.

Games are also about learning - some more so than others. What sort of challenges you find can vary - RPG, Strategy, and Adventure titles (my preferred poisons) often present logic- and reasoning-based challenges. Other game genres get more involved in timing, reaction time, spatial awareness, etcetera. Reaching a challenge and conquering it is always a thrill.

Finally, gaming also brings with it a more social environment. You can't effectively share a book with someone - it just doesn't work well. All you can hope to do is discuss it afterwards, when everyone has finished it. Movies are similar, though you can all watch at the same time. With gaming, even single-player, you can usually share the experience (whether by passing the controller around, shouting out ideas, or joining in some sort of multiplayer).

Gaming is a bizarre amalgamation of cooperative/competitive activities (the bastion of traditional games, like sports) and storytelling (the domain of literature and film). It's unique. Anyone that enjoys entertainment - of any type - is a gamer that just doesn't realize it yet. You just need to find the right one to start with

 

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Original Comment by: Dib O

IIt will be interesting to see if this is the type of person that will really be enthralled by the Revolution.